Nine is a new film directed by Rob Marshall who hails from Chicago and is unassuming only in it’s title. It has a very impressive cast with Oscar winning stars and is based on Tony- winning Broadway musical, which is in turn based on Fellini’s 1963 classical film. The story is about Guido Contini, an Italian director in mid fifties who has recently directed only flops after impressive beginning. He finds himself obsessing about the women in his life as he is about to shoot a movie, but has no script, and is in panic. The movie begins with the different women in the life of Contini at Rome’s Cinecitta Film Studios where they circle him and as the film moves on, each of the women will get a production number except for Marion Cotillard who gets two. Carla (Penelope Cruz) forms his other woman who is a married mistress along with Claudia (Nicole Kidman) who is his film star and muse, Judie Dench who is his Costume designer, and Stephanie (Kate Hudson) who is an American Fashion Journalist.

The film has lots of flashbacks where Guido recalls a prostitute from his youth played by Stacy Ferguson as Saraghina and his judgmental mother played by Sophia Loren. The film has slick presentation with colors, black and whites, zooms, pans, edits and turning the dance into puzzles that are jigsaw. No once can escape the truth that it is a case of mediocre tribute to genius. One gets the feeling of being too anxiously busy to be erotic with all this stuff. Apart from Fergie and Kidman, the rest of the performers are game where they just look like competent singers.

The lyrics make the songs memorable where Fergie gets the loudest and biggest number called ‘Be Italian’. Cruz has a number in ‘A call from the Vatican’ and Dench as Guido’s confidant makes the warmest presence in the film. Hudson is the most grating one revolving in a shining small dress and singing a new song called ‘Cinema Italiano’. The movie improves in all the scenes where Guido made his presence and one can put it as an average film if watched fully. The movie is better in the second half when compared to first half as it shows a suggestion of coherence. Cotillard, an Oscar award winner has delivered some emotional substance to the movie. The movie in the whole has its ups and downs and can be rated as an average fare. Due credit should also be given to the writers of the movie, Michael Tolkin and Anthony Minghella and the movie is rated PG.